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Biggles and the Blue Moon/plot
Chapter 1: Pearls and Problems Air Commodore Raymond summons the Air Police crew and lays before them a problem. One Mr Lin Seng, a wealthy Chinese merchant, had amassed one of the world's finest collections of pearls, including a fabulous large blue example named "The Blue Moon of Asia". But this collection had brought him nothing but grief, first with the murders of his daughter and son. Now he found himself trapped inside his villa which was built in the jungle in remote northeast corner of the Malayan peninsula. He was surrounded by bandits and gangsters who were intent on seizing the gems. Added to that was the complication that Indonesian troops had been landing at various places on the peninsula--this was the time of the conflict known as the "Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation". Lin Seng had asked the British government for help. He had aided the British during the Second World War by running a spy ring in Asia. As a faithful ally, the British government felt honour bound to respond. But Lin Seng's villa was remote and hemmed in by jungle. The situation seemed to call for extraction by some form of aviation, and this was the challenge given to Raymond. Chapter 2: Taihan from Above A month later, Biggles and Algy arrive in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia after an extraction mission had been authorised by the British government. Biggles makes a reconnaissance flight over Lin Seng's villa, Taihan. The open grounds appear unkept and overgrown, but the golf-course offers opportunities. Biggles decides he needs to survey it from ground level before attempting a landing. Chapter 3: Biggles Makes a Call Biggles and Algy call on the Lin Seng's office in Kuala Lumour where they meet his local manager, Mr P. Tong. At first he is inclined to be cautious but he becomes friendly and cooperative when he realises that Biggles is from Scotland Yard and understands his mission. Tong tells Biggles the telephone line to Taihan had been cut for some days, although the Post Office has alreadty sent a man to repair it. Moreover the access road to the villa is in extremely bad condition and Tong thinks it might be dangerous to use it. Nonetheless, Biggles and Algy decide to set off for Taihan by road right away. Chapter 4: The Road to Taihan Driving along the access road to Taihan, Biggles and Algy come across a dead body. He is the post office linesman who had been sent out ot repair the telephone wires and he has evidently been murdered. Biggles and Algy turn around and head for the main road. The stop at a roadside eatery at a village, the "Tea House of the Golden Flowers" whose proprietor fetches the local policemen, Yuntan and his partner. Biggles takes the two policemen to the scene of crime. Meanwhile he asks them about a white man he had seen in the tea house. Theyt tell him he is one Sosbell, who lived in the tea house for a while but they don't know much about him. Chapter 5: Taihan At the crime scene, the body has disappeared! But they find the bloodstains, which confirms Biggles' report. Driving on to Taihan, Biggles says that he suspects Sosbell--he had indeed overheard Biggles talking to the police and was the only one who could have warned the murderer or murderers. They arrive at Taihan and, after triggering the alarm and turning out of the guards, they are finally welcomed by Lin Seng. Chapter 6: More Problems Biggles and Algy soon realize the situation is worse than they expected. Taihan is in a state of siege and Lin Seng has had to post armed guards everywhere. While they could get in, Lin Seng warns that they might not be able to get out again. The bandits surrounding the house would be sure to intervene to prevent the pearls from leaving. Chapter 7: The Golf-course Next morning, Biggles and Algy make a survey of the golf course. They reach a pavilion but smell tobacco. Chapter 8: A Surprise Encounter It turns out someone is in the pavilion--someone whom Biggles would later learn is one of the bandits named Cortello. He thinks Biggles, like himself, is there for the pearls. He offers a million dollars to share the loot. Biggles sends him packing but is puzzled how he got over the deep crocodile infested gulley which forms the boundary of the property. Surveying the perimeter of the golf course, Biggles and Algy find the answer: a fallen tree across the ditch, with a jungle path leading away from it. Chapter 9: Disturbing News With a party of Lin Seng's men, work on clearing a runway on the golf course starts immediately but they are interrupted by a light aircraft which overflies the villa. Biggles thinks it is an ultimatum from the bandits but it turns out to be from Mr Tong. He warns them that a force of some 50 Indonesian commandoes had been spotted landing on the coast not from from Taihan and are believed to be making their way inland. Chapter 10: A Shot in the Dark While the rest are working on the golf course, Biggles stands guard at the fallen tree. He meets Cortello again and warns him about the approach of a force of Indonesian commandoes, hoping this would persuade him or at least some of his men to clear off. Returning to the house after dark, Biggles and Algy hear a shot fired in the jungle. Chapter 11: Biggles Makes a Plan During the night, Biggles comes up with a desparate plan: he must make a dash out of Taihan while Algy remained behind to finish the runway. Biggles would then reutrn and pick him and Lin Seng up. Their discussion is interrupted by an alarm and gunshots. A intruder is captured. It turns out to be Chin Tusang, a former employee of Lin Seng's and now a draftee in the Indonesian army. His unit was the one which had landed nearby. He deserted it to warn Lin Seng that the troops were camped in the jungle six miles away and that their mission was to seize Lin Seng's pearls.. Hearing this news, Biggles decides that it is even more urgent to break out of Taihan. He leaves immediately with Ayart, one of Lin Seng's Malay servants. Algy and Lin Seng watch them depart and a few minutes later, they hear gunfire. Chapter 12: An Anxious Day for Algy Algy wonders whether Biggles got through but there is no sense worrying so in the morning he continues clearing the runway. Meanwhile he suggests to Lin Seng that it might be advisable to hide the pearls--the Indonesian commandoes were equipped for demolition and could easily take apart the strong room and get at them. Towards the evening, gunfire is heard again. Cortello runs across the fallen bridge and pleads for sanctuary--he had just encountered the Indonesian troops and exchanged shots with them. Now he is afraid of being killed. Algy is disgusted with his behaviour but sends him to watch the fallen tree and warn of the approach of the Indonesians. At nightfall, Algy checks on the fallen tree but finds Cortello dead. How and by whom? Chapter 13: Dangerous Work by Moonlight At nightfall, Algy goes out to blow up the fallen tree with some dynamite. He looks for Cortello's body to bury it but finds that it is gone. Chapter 14: What Happened to Biggles The story now rewinds to recount Biggles' point of view since leaving Taihan. After half a mile on the road, Biggles runs into an ambush. Ayart, the Malay boy, escapes but Biggles is captured by Sosbell and Cortello. Sosbell searches the car for the pearls but of course finds nothing. He asks Biggles where he is going so Biggles tells him about the approach of the Indonesian commandoes, something which, he emphasises, he had already warned Cortello about. The bandits take Biggles to their base camp but Biggles has succeeded in sowing discord in the gang. Sosbell is clearly annoyed at Cortello about failing to warn them about the Indonesians. When Cortello wants to go off to take a closer look at the golf course, Sosbell is suspicious and sends Sam, another gang member to follow him. Sam sees Cortello crossing over to Taihan and talking to Algy. Sosbell and Sam believe that Cortello has betrayed them and so Sam is sent to kill him. After that, his body is thrown into the gulley to be eaten by the crocodiles. That night, Sosbell decides to cross over the fallen tree into Taihan and takes his whole party, including Biggles with him. As they approach, the whoe group is flung to the ground by a massive explosion--the one Algy had set off to destroy the fallen tree. Sosbell, nearest the explosion, is either dead or unconscious. Biggles is badly dazed but manages to recover his pistol from Sosbell and stagger off. Sam bars his way so Biggles shoots him. Chapter 15: The Big Day Dawns The next day, Algy deployes Lin Seng's men in a defensive perimeter around the golf course while Lin Seng will fetch his pearls and remain nearby. The Auster is finally heard approaching, but ALgy notes to his consternation that some Indonesian troops are also at the fringe of the golf course. Biggles circles but doesn't land, Lin Seng has not appeared, and worse still, there is gunfire from the directio of the house. Puzzled, Algy runs back to the house to investigate. He finds Lin Seng knocked unconscious by a tree with his attacker over him about to strike the death blow. It turns out the deserter Chin Tusang was a traitor after all and only interested in getting to the pearls himself. Algy fires a shot at him which causes him to flee. Pursuing him, Algy fires a few more shots which finally causes him to stumble and fall. Approaching him, Algy finds a morocco case with the pearls inside. He hastily transfers the pearls into his pockets and returns to Lin Seng's body. Chapter 16: All Buttoned Up Biggles has landed. He had circled to ensure that government troops, which were approaching Taihan, had first reached the grounds and had established control over the place. With the help of one of Lin Seng's men, Lin Seng is transfered to the Auster and is evacuated successfully to a hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Biggles recounts the tale of his escape from Sosbell and the gang, giving credit largely to Ayart, who, after evading the ambush, had found the local police. They had warned the authorities about the Indonesian troops. The pearls end up in safekeeping in a London bank and Lin Seng presents the Air Police with a carved jade fish, a talisman of good luck. As Algy says, it is something they badly need if there are to be many more missions like this one. Category:Plot summaries